Core Center Overview. This application requests support to establish the University of Michigan Hearing Research Core Center. The funding base consists of 16 projects and 14 investigators supported by $2,996,145 annual direct costs. The cores will also provide resources to three other funded projects in hearing research, including two additional investigators. The Core Center will support three research cores that are designed to provide centralized resources and facilities for technology and computing services (Core A), auditory physiology (Core B) and auditory histology and pathology (Core C). Each core will be supervised by a research core director, a faculty expert in the respective area, and staffed with experienced personnel. The individual core services are described in detail in their respective sections. The cores will promote the effectiveness of ongoing research by offering state-of-the-art technology to the participating laboratories. They will promote scientific interactions and multidisciplinary research efforts between the laboratories by providing standardized and comparable analyses, thus facilitating data exchange and interpretation. The services provided by the cores will also stimulate the inclusion of new or unified research paradigms, for example to the use of mouse models to replace some of the various species currently used (guinea pig, rat). In addition, regular meetings of the participating laboratories will enhance the intellectual environment and promote the exchange of constructive criticism and novel ideas. The overall responsibility for the direction and operation of the research cores will rest with the Core Center Director. Day-to-day planning, however, is in the hands of the directors of the individual Research Cores. Procedures are in place for scheduling and prioritization of services and quality control. The Core Center Director will be assisted by an administrative support staff for the coordination of day-to-day activities, monitoring of distribution and utilization of funds, for personnel issues and to fulfill reporting requirements to the granting agency. Center AdministrationProgram Director: Jochen Schacht, Ph.D.